Risers and fallers after Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and heading into the final regular-season race of the season:

Risers

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin became the first driver this year to win back-to-back races, and on two distinctly different tracks. With his fourth win of the season, he also earned at least a share of the points lead when the Chase starts in two weeks. More importantly, Hamlin may have established himself as the driver to beat for the series championship.

Martin Truex Jr. Truex almost won at Atlanta, proving that he is close to winning for the first time since 2007. Truex, who signed a contract extension with Michael Waltrip Racing last week, also is peaking heading into the Chase with five top-10 finishes in his last six races. He could be a sleeper in the playoff race.

Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs has not only put another driver (Hamlin) in contention to win the championship, but is about to land another former champion and perennial title contender in Matt Kenseth. A trio of Hamlin, Kenseth and Kyle Busch will give the esteemed head coach one of the strongest driver tandems in the sport.

Gil Martin. The veteran crew chief was banished by Kevin Harvick after failing to lead him to a championship the past two seasons. For leading Harvick to consecutive third-place finishes in points—the best points finishes of his career—Martin got the ultimate insult of being released from his job. Now, Martin may be getting the last laugh. It took Martin just two races to get Harvick’s team back on track and lead it to its best finish (fifth at Atlanta) in three months.

Fallers

Stewart-Haas Racing. The organization that won the Sprint Cup championship last year suddenly is reeling. Defending champion Tony Stewart is in a slump and has fallen to 10th in points and, barring a miracle at Richmond, Ryan Newman will miss the Chase. But what’s worse is that SHR is losing another primary sponsor. Weeks after the U.S. Army announced that it wouldn’t return to Newman’s team next year, Office Depot revealed that it is not returning to Stewart’s team. The organization now needs two primary sponsors in an increasingly difficult economy.

Carl Edwards. Barring a miracle at Richmond, Edwards will miss the Chase a year after nearly winning the championship. It will mark the second time in his career he has flopped after nearly winning the title. Edwards must figure out how to get his team back on track and keep it there on a consistent basis if he plans to win a championship.

Joey Logano. Not only will Logano fail once again to make the Chase—again, barring a miracle at Richmond—but now he has lost a lucrative ride at Joe Gibbs Racing (he will be replaced by Kenseth). Though he won two Cup races, Logano clearly did not reach his potential with one of the sport’s elite teams. He has landed a new ride with Penske Racing, but that clearly is a step down from Gibbs.

Danica Patrick. Patrick struggled at Atlanta, finishing six laps down in 29th. Except for a solid run that ended in a crash at Bristol, she has not exactly distinguished herself in five Sprint Cup starts. Five finishes of 29th or worse is not quite what she expected, but, unfortunately, many of her detractors did.